Treatment of aluminum-bearing materials.



HARRY P; BASSETT OF CATONSVILLE, MARYLAND.

TREATMENT OF ALUMINUM-BEARING MATERIALS.

No Drawing.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 25, 1913.

Application filed llarch 22, 1912. Serial No. 685,583.

To all whom it may concern: V

Be it known that I, HARRY P. BASSETT, a citizen of the United States,residing at Catonsville, in the'county of Baltimore City and State ofMaryland, have invented cert-ain new and useful Improvements in theTreatment of Aluminum-Bearing Materials, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to the treatment of aluminum bearing materials,such as clay, potassium and sodium feldspar, slate, granite or the like,and has for its principal object to provide a process for the separationof aluminum or aluminum salts from the aluminum bearing material.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear in the courseof the following specification.

In the practice of my process, I preferably add to'the clay, rock orother aluminum bearing material, sodium carbonate and sodium sulfate andfurnace the mixture to the point of fusion, which occurs at a low 'redheat; j

I prefer to mix the clay, rock or other aluminum bearing material withthe reagents mentioned in the following proportions by weight: clay oraluminum bearingrock,'5 parts; sodium carbonate, 3 parts; sodium sulfate2 parts. The reaction which occurs when the mixture is heated isbelieved to be represented by the following equation: 6KAlSi O +3Na SO+4Na CO,

(2Na O.9SiQ which is insoluble in water, undissolved.

In order to effect the separation of the aluminum from the solution, Ipass carbondioxid through such solution, thereby transforming thealuminum into the form of aluminum hydroxid Al(OI-I) which is agelatinous mass. This gelatinous precipitate is separated from thesolution preferably by centrifugal action, and may be dried, but ispreferably treated with an alkali as sodlum hydrate or sodium carbonate,and'the aluminum obtained in the form of sodium aluminate (NaAlO In thetreatment of clay, pot-ash, feldspar,

or other aluminum bearing materials which contain potash, I am able toadvantageously separate the pot-ash present, in the practice of myprocess.

Where. potash is present in the material under treatment, it will befound iii the solution after the precipitation of the aluminum hydroxid,as hereinbefore described, the treatment herein'before set forth beingapplicable to the treatment of alumi'no-us materials containing potashas well as those containing no potash.

After the separation of the aluminum hydroxid, ashere-inbeforedescribed, there is present in the solution sodium lei-carbonate(NaHCO), sodium sulfate (Na SO and potassium -bi-carbonate (KHCO To thissolution is added caustic alkali, preferably sodium hydroxid in anamount sufficient to transform the sodium bi-carbonate and potassiumbi-carbona'te present into normal sodium and potassium carbonate. Afterthetreatment with the sodium hydrate the solution will contain sodiumcarbonate, 0- tassium carbonate and sodium sulfate. T is is heated topreferably about C. to evaporate the solution and preci itate the sodiumcarbonate and sodium sul ate. residual liquid consists of potassiumcar-.

(Na SiO hereinbefore referredto may be advantageously heated with analkaline salt, preferably sodium carbonate, to fusion and dissolved inwater, to form water-glass.

' While I have set forth the materials which I prefer to employ inthepractice of my process, and the proportions in which I refer. to mix myreagents, it 'is to be un erstood that chemical equivalents of thereagents may be employed and that the proportions may be varied withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention and the scope of the pendingclaims.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a process forthe economical separation of aluminum from clay, slate, feldspar, or thelike, and that my process enables me to economically separate potashwhere such potash is contained in the aluminum bearing materials undertreatment.

The

subject matter of aseparate application for Letters Patent.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. The herein described process of treating clay, feldspar, slate andother aluminum bearing materials, which consists in heating the samewith an alkali and an alkali metal sulfate, the alkali being employed innot to exceed three parts by. weight, to five parts by weight ofthealuminum bearing material and extracting the sulfate portion of thetreated mass.

2. The herein described process of treatingclay, feldspar, slate andother aluminum bearing materials, which consists in heating the samewith sodium carbonate and sodium sulfate, the'sodium carbonatebeingemployed-in not to exceed approximately three parts by weight, to fiveparts by weight of the aluminum bearing material.

3. The process of treating clay, feldspar,

slate and other aluminum bearing materials which. consists in heatingthe same with an alkali and :an alkali metal sulfate in the. proportionsof five parts of the aluminum bearing material, not to exceed approxi-'mat'ely three parts of the alkali and not to .exceed approximately twoparts of the alkali five parts of the aluminum bearing material and notto exceed approximately three parts of sodium carbonate and two parts ofsodium sulfate and extracting the soluble portion of the treated mass.

5. The herein described process of treating clay, feldspar, slate andother aluminum bearing materials which consists in heating the same withsodium carbonate and sodium sulfate in approximately the followingproportions by weight,1 five parts of the aluminum bearing material,three parts of the sodium carbonate and two parts of the sodium sulfateextracting the soluble portion of the treated mass, carbonating thesolution to produce a precipitated aluminum hydroxid, and separating theprecipitated aluminum hydroxid.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HARRY P. BASSETT.

Witnesses:

C. L. PARKER,

B. J. WASHBUR'NE.

4. The herein describedprocess of treat-

